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Tuesday, 27 November 2012

Blog Story: Ferrell's Destiny

Blurb

"The age of Wolf was almost over. Within a generation a new House would rule the planet. Ferrell, the first born son of the Wolf House, watched bitterly as the lesser houses sought to take power. At seventeen he would have been next in line to take over as leader of the planet, once his father's reign ended and he ascended to the Great Pack.

Born a generation too late, Ferrell was destined to bow down before one of his best friends, Markus of the House of Lion, or Steel of the House of Lion, to be nothing more than a counselor or warrior. His only alternative is one he finds repugnant, to be part of an arranged marriage to keep political power.

Then Ferrell is kidnapped by the human and the fae, the other two races on the planet, in an attempt to change the political structure of his world. The leader of the kidnappers, the human, Lucas, is determined to show Ferrell and his friends that the traditional ways need to change.

Ferrell is caught between his heritage, his friends and the burgeoning feelings for Lucas, once the son of his servant, and now his political enemy."

Prologue

The
age of Wolf was almost over. Ferrell’s father was the last of ten generations, and
as decreed by the Council of Shifters, lupine power would be replaced by a new House
to keep the shifters strong against the other races on the planet. If the new
House ruled wisely, the change of power would mean little to the other two
races, the humans and the Fae, other than a change of shifter masters. But to the
shifter race, the change was profound. The qualities of the Wolf which had
ruled wisely for so long would be replaced by strengths and weaknesses of the Bear
or the Lion, one of the stronger Houses that had the resources to challenge for
power.

At
twenty, and the first born of Wolf, Ferrell watched bitterly as the lesser
houses scrabbled for power. If he had been born but a generation previously he
would have been the next Great One to lead the shifters and the planet, after
his father ascended to the Great Pack. Now he was destined to be nothing more
than a warrior or a counsellor, to the next leader.

Ferrell
knew he was the most capable of all the first born children to rule the planet.
Despite the fact that the Wolves’ reign was coming to an end, his father had
insisted on Ferrell’s education should be that of a leader, and his knowledge of
politics and diplomacy was second to none. He despised the political
machinations between the lesser Houses, as did most of the first born children,
but they were powerless in the face of tradition and their sires’ desire to
lead the ruling house.

Ferrell
had two best friends; Steel of the Bear House and Markus of the Lion House.
They were almost the same age, having been birthed within the same season. For
most of their lives they had spent much of their waking hours together, playing
and learning within the Wolf compound at Lius, the central Shifter city on the
planet. For the Bears and the Lions, it was a political coup to be invited into
the compound. The Wolves’ power may have been coming to an end, but they were
still the ones who would give the final approval to the new political
leadership. All three Houses knew there was more than just playdates for the
three young shifter boys. The boys didn’t care. From their first meeting the
boys had become friends, with no thought of what was to come as they reached
adulthood.

With
childhood far behind them, the three young men were caught up in the politics
of their Houses, and the thought of bowing to either Steel or Markus left a
bitter taste in Ferrell’s mouth. His mother’s suggestion that he wed one of
them to keep in the first family was equally unacceptable. He wanted to find
his mate, or at least be able to choose his life partner. Much as he cared for
both of his friends, neither of them were potential mates for him. He had slept
with both of them, individually and together, and while the experiences had
scratched the itches of young shifter males, no one had seen it as anything
more than a way to satisfy natural urges.

Now
the time was coming for the change of leadership and Ferrell was going to have
to swallow his pride and bow to one of his friends. Nothing else would be
acceptable in the eyes of the shifter world.